Dovewing's Choice
by Dewfur296
Summary: Dovewing must choose between Bumblestripe and Tigerheart. But how will they react when she's decided? Whose kits shall she bear? What will happen? Find out in this story that takes place after that last hope.
1. Chapter 1

"Dovewing, you need decide." Ivypool whispers in my ear. I look at her solemnly and duck my head.

"I know, but, it's just so hard."

"You must know what is best for you, Tigerheart, he's a Shadowclan warrior for Starclan's sake! Bumblestripe loves you. He always will. You must understand what the right thing to do is, Dovewing."

"Yeah, I know. I'm going to meet Tigerheart tonight. I will tell him when I meet him at the border."

"You need to tell Bumblestripe, too."

"Okay, but after I talk to Tigerheart."

"Alright, but don't stall, it will only make it worse."

Tigerheart's scent fills my nostrils, and his fur presses against mine, a bittersweet moment. I pull away.

"Tigerheart, I can't do this anymore!" I look away, unable to make eye contact.

"What?" His voice cracks, and I can imagine the hurt in his eyes.

"I can't see you anymore. We're breaking the warrior code!"

"But you never had a problem with it before!"

"That was before the dark forest was defeated! Now we will be caught, and we can't have another Thunderclan warrior breaking the code, not after Leafpool, or after the three,"

"The what?"

"Nothing. I'm sorry, Tigerheart, I just can't. Goodbye, Tigerheart."

"There's someone else, isn't there?"

"What?"

"Who is it? Tell me!"

"That's none of your business, mouse-brain!"

"Fine, then! Leave me alone. I hope I never see you again!"

"Goodbye, Tigerheart." With a swish of my tail, I was off, racing through the woods, tears streaking down my cheeks. I was suddenly at the edge of the lake, bawling my eyes out.

"Dovewing?"

"Bumblestripe?" I sniff.

"Are you okay?" His worried eyes shimmer in the moonlight.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"No, you're not. What's wrong?"

I sigh. "I am so sorry, but, I've been seeing somebody else."

"What? Who? Foxleap? Toadstep? It's okay, I can't-"

"No, it's a Shadowclan warrior."

"What!?"

"I'm so sorry, I told him I won't see him anymore, because I love you, Bumblestripe, and I want to put this behind us. Please, can we forget about this?"

"Okay, but who else knows?"

"Only Ivypool."

"Dovewing, I love you, but tell me the truth. Do you really love me back?"

"Yes, Bumblestripe, I really do. Can you forgive me?"

He purrs, licking the top of my head. "Of course, my love." I press closer against him, purring. He pulls me against him, his breathing growing shallow. I sigh, feeling content.


	2. The Ambush

"Ugh, morning already?" Bumblestripe groans, stirring from his peaceful slumber.

"Fox-dung! We need to get back! What will Ivypool think? Oh, Starclan, what will Whitewing think? We have to go!"

"Whoa, whoa, Dovewing, wait up!" He races after me, and we dart through the trees. We pad into camp, panting. The warriors in camp glance up, a few smirk, and some look away. Whitewing looks over, watching Bumblestripe like a hawk. He licks my cheek, and we part ways. I head to the warriors den, him over by the edge of camp to talk to Toadstep. I pad into the den. Ivypool flicks her tail, beckoning to me. I lay beside her.

"So, did you tell him?" She asks quietly.

"Yeah, and I told Bumblestripe, too."

"Is he okay with it?"

"Yeah, I will be right back. Dirtplace." She nods, and I head out of the den. I trot past Bumblestripe and Toadstep. Heading into dirtplace, I get my business done, and was about to head out when I heard Toadstep talking.

"So, are you and Dovewing mates now? Because I know you can do better."

"What do you mean?" Bumblestripe asks, in a confused tone.

"I mean, what about Rosepetal or Hazeltail? Even Icecloud! You could do way better!"

"Hey, I'll let you know Dovewing is amazing, and, if anything, she's too good for _**me**_!"

"Whatever, I'm gonna go hang out with Dovewing's sister, Ivypool." I hear Bumblestripe sigh and Toadstep trotting away. I step from dirtplace and give Bumblestripe a nuzzle.

"Thank you."

"It's my pleasure," He purrs. "Um… Shouldn't you go warn Ivypool?"

"Nah, Ivypool likes Foxleap. But you didn't hear it from me!" He laughs and we head over to get a nice plump vole.

The full moon shone brightly as Riverclan races into the clearing, having arrived late to the gathering. I lean into Bumblestripe, ignoring the longing looks from Tigerheart. I meet his eyes and he glares. I tune out the rest of the gathering. We manage safely across the tree bridge, and Bumblestripe leads me away from the group.

"Dovewing?" He asks after we are out of earshot.

"Yes?"

"Will…. Will you be my mate?"

"Oh, Bumblestripe, I-"

"She's coming with me!" Growls a voice.

"Tigerheart!" I hiss.

"Go away, you crow-food eating, mouse-brained, foxhearted, idiot furball piece of fox-dung!"

"Whoa! Bumblebee! Language!" Tigerheart chuckles at him, as if he were an annoying kit.

"Shut up, and leave us alone."

"You're on my territory, Thunderclan brats. Dawnpelt, you take the weak tom, I'll take this she-cat." Dawnpelt appears from the shadows and shoves Bumblestripe ahead of us. He growls and swipes at her face. She snarls back and he leaps onto her, and they roll, a ball of claws and teeth.

"How could you? This was for the best!" I let out the tears I've been holding in.

"You will live in Shadowclan with me, and we will have a wonderful life! Perfect kits, I could be leader, and we could be the power couple of the century!" He grins, and I see a look in his eyes I never noticed before. He looks ambitious, like his grandfather, Tigerstar.

"Tigerheart, I belong in Thunderclan with my family."

"I am your family now!" He snarls, grabbing the scruff of my neck. I try to fight back, but he swipes a strong paw across my face, and I feel lightheaded. I suddenly see Bumblestripe fly at Tigerheart, a flurry of fur and blood, and then everything went dark.


	3. Relief

p id="docs-internal-guid-5e9d86c8-8c45-6f5d-f54b-ac54c5479400" dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"I awaken in my nest, Ivypool's warm fur against mine. I remember the night before with a hiss./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;""Dovewing…" Ivypool stirs. "Morning," she yawns, loudly./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;""Where's Bumblestripe!?" /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;""I'm fine, thanks." She rolls her eyes. "Medicine den."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;""Thanks." I pad towards the medicine den, anxious. I walk in, looking around. The tangy smell of herbs makes me wrinkle my nose. How can Jayfeather stand it? I see a lump in the back of the den, and a familiar scent washes over me. "Bumblestripe!" I rush over to bury my nose in his fur. I ignore the sour tang of herbs and suddenly I get a whiff of blood./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;""He'll be alright." I look over at Briarlight who has dragged herself over. She looks at me with a wisdom far beyond her years. I nod and give a lick Bumblestripe's head before padding out of the medicine den. I crouch down with a plump squirrel beside Ivypool./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;""Can you tell me what happened?" I ask quietly. She glanced at me and nudges her thrush closer to me./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;""Well, after Tigerheart ambushed you Bumblestripe fought them off and carried you back. Unfortunately, he blacked out at the border. Birchfall and Whitewing found you when they went out looking for you. Don't worry I told them a fox attacked you." Seeing my questioning look she kept talking. "I had to tell them. I found Whitewing and Birchfall so I had them help me use fox scat to make it look like a fox attacked you. Now Whitewing and Birchfall know about Tigerheart." She spit out his name as if it was a piece of crow-food. I nod. I pick up the squirrel, not having taken a bite, and race back into the medicine den. I lay beside Bumblestripe and the scent of fresh-kill makes him stir. He takes one look at my blue eyes and pulls me into his paws. "Thank you," I whisper into his chest fur and he smiles. "C'mon. Let's eat." I gesture at the squirrel. He sits up, and we dig in. We finish, licking our lips. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;""I'll be talking to Whitewing." I whisper to him. He gives me a reassuring look and I head out, passing Briarlight, who was dragging herself in with a mouse. When she saw Bumblestripe she rushed over and called for Blossomfall. I grin and pad over to the warriors' den. I peek inside and beckon a sleepy Whitewing. She leaps to her feet and we pad out of camp and as soon as we leave camp she thumps a paw on the top of my head./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;""Oww! What in Starclan was that for?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;""Being reckless." She thumps my head again and I wince. "Sneaking out." Another hit to my head. "Seeing a shadowclan warrior." Another. "Seeing a boy before you were a warrior." I guess she still wasn't done, because she hits me again twice. "One from me, and one from Birchfall." /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;""Mom, I'm sorry." I look at her, trying to look as sorry and pathetic as possible. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;""I'm just glad you're okay." She gives me a lick on the head and sighs. Birchfall bursts into the path, startling us both. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"Seeing me he starts to whack me on the head. /spanspan style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"Again/spanspan style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;". "Shadowclan warrior, really?" Whack. "Sneaking out of camp when-"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;""I already covered it, sweetie." Mom cuts off my dad./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;""Oh. Well, Dovewing, are you alright?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"" Physically, yes, but mentally? Definitely not."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;""Well, you always have us." Whitewing meows as Birchfall nods./span/p  
p id="docs-internal-guid-5e9d86c8-8c41-ff32-8b95-f676e0511a88" dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 23.950310230255127px; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;""Thanks, guys." I purr as I touch noses with my father and then my mother. I am so lucky to have loving parents./span/p 


	4. Kits

Two moons later I lay in the nursery, giving birth to my kits. I cry out in agony and I hear Bumblestripe struggling to get in, with no luck. Ivypool holds him back. A ripple of pain courses through my body. I howl into the night. A beautiful she-kit just like me slides out. Then comes (with another screech) another she-kit. A she-kit just like Ivypool. Next is a tom, strong, just like my mate. Soon, I have four kits laying beside me, the final one being another tom, the two boys exactly alike. Bumblestripe stands beside my nest, pride glistening in his gaze.

"What are their names?" He asks softly.

"For the grey she-kit, what about Dewkit?" He purrs in agreement.

"How about Ivykit for the other?" I smile.

"Perfect. And maybe…"

"Oakkit! For the Tom."

"And Darkkit?"

"Perfect!" I purr, and quickly fall asleep.

"Dewkit's a slow slug! Dewkit's a slow-mrroww!" Dewkit's bowls over Darkkit growling. She's small, but feisty.

"I am leader of thunderclan! I am Ivystar! C'mon Oakkit, let's ambush the Shadow clan scum!" With a yowl, they leapt into battle. Dewkit's squealed, but was able to escape their grip.

"Hey." Bumblestripe drops prey at my feet. I smile and we dig into the fleshy vole. I nuzzle him and realize, it can't get much better than this.

 _I named the kits Ivykit for Ivypool, (my fave character) and Oakkit for Bluestar, and Dewkit and Darkkit were just nice names. I love Dovewing and thought she deserved a happy ending. I never really liked Tigerheart, although I don't hate him and that's why I chose Bumblestripe. And he's the more sensible choice. Thx for reading!_


End file.
